The numbers are supposed to be big in online marketing, but are they significant in the online marketing of music Clearly, we need someone with Net experience to set a few things straight. Scott Meldrum is a businessperson and musician with a dry wit and a background in bulk mail. Oops, excuse me, direct response advertising. Hes also the man called on by major labels when they want to brand an artist and reach millions of fans via the Internet.
Beginning with Papa Roach in 1998 and continuing with such platinum-selling artists as Avril Lavigne, Dido and Jennifer Lopez, Meldrums Long Beach-based firm, Hype Council, is one of the prime marketing weapons utilized by the worlds largest entertainment companies.
Taking center stage for a Monday evening presentation by NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals) at the Beverly Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, Meldrum began with some facts about the Internet. Does that sound a bit dull It wasnt. His presentation quickly revealed things about the Net that should be known by every marketer (thats you, if you or your artists are selling music online).
THE GLOBAL AUDIENCE FOR MUSIC.
Most Internet users (nearly a majority of them) are between the ages of 30 and 49, far older than many in the audience thought. And for those of us who believed that the USA had the highest percentage of Internet users, it was a surprise to learn that were only sixth. (Of course, in raw numbers of users, the USA has by far the most people.)
Fully 40% of the USAs 177 million Net users go online for music (more in some other nations). Look at it another way: if you put your music on the Internet, you have a potential audience of some 70 million. And with total Internet users currently at 404 million, that translates into a worldwide potential audience of 161 million people.
The problem is: how to reach them. They are wildly segmented in terms of music genre; they only want to be contacted under certain sets of circumstances; and they need to have a safe, secure, and easy way to make purchases.
Fortunately, The Internet is still a new medium, Meldrum asserts, and there are tremendous opportunities for people in the business of selling music.
Some of those opportunities are being wasted, however, through poor Web site design. Meldrum revealed the biggest errors made in creating or maintaining a Web site. . .
TOP 5 MISTAKES OF WEBSITES:
1. Mistaking creativity for functionality. Dont try to put everything on your front page. Organization is the key. Lead your fans to the most important things. Thats what menus are for, so dont hide them. How many times have you gone to a site that looks interesting, but you have no clue how to navigate it People dont have time to waste figuring it out. Make it easy for them.
2. Burying the offer. Links to buy the CD should be available at almost every page on your Website. Many Websites challenge, almost dare visitors to find the product, let alone buy it.
3. Ignoring fans. Many artist Websites have a registration feature, but it is not prominently displayed. When you are not selling albums at your Website, you need to be collecting email registrations. This builds a fan base where you can sell an album now and more in the future.
4. Not giving fans what they want. Make your music accessible. Offer a few full streams of your songs. Make a download available in exchange for an email registration. You will win more fans and sell more CDs giving your music away than you will by not letting your potential fans really listen before they buy.
5. Failing to design with bandwidth in mind. Ever been to a Website and forgot why you were there before the page fully loaded Getting people to your site is hard enough. Losing them because they got tired of waiting for your page to load is a waste of everyones time and energy.
CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS:
Websites are a necessity, but dont overlook other ways of reaching out to potential fans on the Internet. Banners can be bought or traded. Emails can be sent (be mindful of the CAN-SPAM law; see below for link). Marketing can be done on search engines. You can join or participate in message boards and blogs (web logs). And the latest advancement in music marketing involves social networks such as MySpace.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Meldrum had many specific suggestions for attendees, including:
* use Google for research
* check out MySpace.com
* target your audience
* simplify your Website
* give away some songs
* interact with your audience often
You can send emails in text or HTML format. With HTML (hyper text markup language), you can include pictures and graphics. They look nice, but we get twice the open rate with text emails.
THE BOTTOM LINE ON WEBSITES:
To your online fans, you are your Website. If they love it, they will love you, and will be eager to follow your careers. Take all the great things about you, your talent and your message, and translate to HTML. Keep it simple, easy-to-navigate and informative, and you will have a highly-effective marketing channel for your music.
Sources for more info:
http://www.narip.com
http://www.hypecouncil.com
http://www.scottmeldrum.com
http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
http://marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/
http://www.google.com
http://www.myspace.com/thegman
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Scott G (The G-Man) writes and produces radio commercials from G-Man Music & Radical Radio. With albums on Delvian Records, iTunes, Amazon, and many other online stores, he also composes music that is played in clubs, on college radio stations, and on commercials. A member of NARAS (the Grammy organization) and NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals), he writes about music, advertising, marketing, communications, advertainment, and digital distribution for the Immedia Wire Service and MusicDish.com. Samples of his songs and commercials are on his site at:
You are now reading Part 2 of my article the Dos and Donts for the Internet Marketing Newbie. Part 1 covered the Dos and this part will cover the Donts.
Dont throw your money away! Unless you have lots to throw away and can afford to buy whatever gets thrown at you. Budget yourself and keep within your budget. Only spend when you need to. You will come across plenty of sites that want you to spend your hard earned money for an internet marketing course, E-book, or piece of software guaranteed to make you money. Dont fall into the trap. First investigate, ask questions from other marketers to see if they are familiar with the product and recommend it. Thats where the forums come in handy and are beneficial.
Dont believe all of the hype you will encounter. Example. BUY THIS SOFTWARE NOW! YOU ONLY HAVE TILL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT OR THE PRICE IS GOING TO DOUBLE OR EVEN TRIPLE. YOULL SAVE $200.00 IF YOU BUY RIGHT NOW! Dont believe it, the price will be the same tomorrow and the next. Or heres another good one. Im only selling this to the first 50 people who visit my website. Yeah, right. I really believe that one.
Dont forget you are a potential customer to every marketer out there, so they will try to sell you their service or product to make money. Remember you are now a marketer and your purpose is to sell your service or product to others, not for you to buy theirs.
Dont get me wrong, some services or products are worth buying. You just have to figure out which are the right ones for you and your business. Remember youre not trying to line someone elses pockets. Youre trying to line your own.
Dont get frustrated and give up because things dont happen right away. You have to have the mindset that you can do it and succeed. Granted you will have good days and bad days. Every accomplishment is a victory. Every defeat is a learning experience. No business is an overnight success.
Dont limit yourself and your thinking. Be willing to try different things and when you find the one thing that seems to work, build on it, but keep trying other things as well.
Youve had your business up and running for a couple of months and youve only made one sale. Dont quit because you think its not working. Think in these terms instead. If youve made one sale, then you can make 2 sales, and if you can make 2 sales, you can make 3 sales and so on. Many of the top marketers on the internet today took years to find the formula that led to their success.
Dont believe that there is such a thing as an auto-pilot business. Like Ron Popeils rotisserie oven, SET IT AND GO. Just doesnt work that way. I dont care what you have heard or have read. You have to promote your business. You have to get your name out there and become visible so people can find you and what youre offering. Just because you now have a website does not mean the masses will come in droves. There are millions upon millions of websites and probably at least a quarter of a million of them are selling the same service or product as you. The question is how are you going to get people to visit your website instead of someone elses Once they are there, whats going to get them to buy from you or join your affiliation So understand you are going to have to learn how to promote and sell your business and that involves work and time.
Dont upgrade your affiliation accounts until you can afford to do so. Many affiliate programs will try to pressure you into upgrading to a Pro account. Wait until you start making some money from your business first, then upgrade.
Dont rely solely on emailing to promote your business. Due to major Spam filters your message may not get through. Find all of the different ways to advertise on the internet like writing articles, exchanging links, click/surf exchanges, and Pay Per Click search engines. Use offline ways to advertise your business like newspaper ads, mailings, telemarketing, faxes and flyers. Put your website on a t-shirt and wear it!
Dont give up, persistence will pay off eventually.
Okay, Ill stop there. I probably could go on and on and even write an E-book about this subject (thats a thought). I think you get the idea about how to avoid the Information Overload headache and hopefully I have given you some substance for thought. The most important point is take one step at a time. Dont rush it! And remember once a newbie always a newbie because you will be learning all of the time!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Debra Hamer is the owner of the website where you can find the tips, tools, and resources to start your own work at home internet business. Become a subscriber to her free Home Business Tips Newsletter. She also offers free software to create your own PlugInProfitSite and the Mega PlugInProfitSite website and a free E-book titled 30 Days to Success written by Stone Evans that will give you a day by day guide on how to promote your internet business.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~